Nürburgring Friday Notebook

***Fanatec GT World Challenge Europe powered by AWS Endurance Cup returns to the Nürburgring this weekend for the penultimate round of the season. The German venue is back on the Endurance Cup schedule after being replaced by Hockenheim last year.

***In 2021, the Nürburgring was a strong track for Lamborghini as it swept all classes with Orange 1 FFF Racing Team and Emil Frey Racing. That was the last time a Lamborghini won in Endurance Cup and the Italian manufacturer is hoping that its current winless run won’t extend into double digits on Sunday.

***Porsche Hypercar driver Frederic Makowiecki has been drafted into the CLRT Porsche 911 GT3 R in place of Hugo Chevalier, who was on an earlier entry list. Makowiecki put CLRT eighth on the grid for the CrowdStrike 24 Hours of Spa last month, before going on to finish fourth in Bronze Cup.

***DTM racer Tim Heinemann has received his second late call-up for a GTWC Europe Endurance Cup drive in as many races. Heinemann has replaced Alfred Renauer in the No. 91 Herberth Motorsport Porsche, which carries a John Player Special Lotus throwback livery. The German driver was also a late addition to Huber Motorsport’s lineup for Spa.

***Sandy Mitchell won Friday’s Fanatec Esports GT Pro Series race to earn five points for K-PAX Racing in the GTWC Europe teams’ standings. The Lamborghini factory driver converted pole position to victory and finished 5.5 seconds ahead of Rutronik Racing’s Laurin Heinrich. Cesar Gazeau earned top points in Silver Cup for Boutsen VDS. Results

***CSA Racing’s Audi R8 LMS GT3 Evo II has been moved from Bronze Cup to Pro-Am considering Arthur Rougier and Erwin Creed are racing as a pairing. Barwell Motorsport, which was already in Pro-Am, is taking the same two-driver approach with Dennis Lind and Rob Collard.

***It means that Bronze-rated drivers Creed and Collard will need to take part in two of the three qualifying sessions and complete two-thirds of the race.

***Two paid test sessions were held on Friday and saw most of the 54 cars hit the track. Both 60-minute sessions were led by the No. 998 ROWE Racing BMW M4 GT3, with Max Hesse setting the initial pace with a 2:06.047 in drying conditions and Dan Harper besting that significantly with a 1:54.748 in the dry afternoon run.

***A one-hour Bronze driver test was also held. Silver-rated Kiern Jewiss topped the timesheets in Team Parker Racing’s Porsche 911 GT3 R with a 1:55.251 effort, while Barwell Lamborghini driver Collard was the best Bronze, seven-tenths behind. Results

***The No. 85 Grasser Racing Team Lamborghini Huracan GT3 EVO2 underwent a clutch change that caused it to miss the paid testing. Grasser’s sister No. 58 Lamborghini lineup now includes Gerhard Tweraser, who is driving in place of Ricky Capo.

***The news that Audi Sport’s factory involvement in GT racing will end after this year is one of the hot topics in the paddock. Nine of the 14 works drivers who are soon to become free agents are at the Nürburgring and several have spoken about their options.

***Multiple sources told Sportscar365 that Audi Sport gave its factory drivers the option to sign contracts through 2024 at the beginning of this year. A handful are understood to have taken up the offer but it remains to be seen how that will play out once the factory support ends.

***This weekend marks the first time since 2019 that the GTWC Europe Endurance Cup hasn’t been supported by the GT4 European Series powered by RAFA Racing Club. The GT4s have two Sprint Cup support slots this year, at Misano and Hockenheim.

***GT4 Europe title sponsor RAFA Racing Club has launched a talent search for its own esports team that will join the SRO Esports Sim Pro Series next year. “We are enjoying working alongside SRO to elevate the Esports Sim Pro Series, as part of our new three-year deal, to provide unforgettable competition for all involved,” said RAFA founder Rafael Martinez.

***A few days after his first GTWC Europe win at Misano, Valentino Rossi welcomed Team WRT members to his Motor Ranch near the Italian circuit. Rossi’s co-driver Maxime Martin, his former co-driver Frederic Vervisch and WRT team principal Vincent Vosse were among those to hit the dirt tracks on two wheels.

***The No. 32 BMW M4 GT3 chassis that WRT rolled out after its accident with ROWE Racing in the night at Spa was previously used at the Bathurst 12 Hour. It made its return in the GTWC Europe Sprint Cup round at Misano.

***WRT sporting director Kurt Mollekens explained that the No. 32 lost a potential victory in Race 2 at Misano when two spare wheel nuts detached from a mechanic’s belt during the pit stop, causing a significant delay. “It’s very rare that this happens,” he said. “The fact that it happens twice on one pit stop, we must look into it.”

***Patric Niederhauser is targeting a top-three finish in the GTWC Europe Endurance Cup standings for the No. 25 Sainteloc Junior Team crew. “Spa was quite a big hit for us, but we are still in the game to score a podium for Endurance Cup,” Niederhauser told Sportscar365. “We have some redemption to make in the last two races.”

***The gap between third and seventh place in the Endurance Cup drivers’ standings is just six points, however the best of those crews is 35 points away from Akkodis ASP’s Raffaele Marciello, Jules Gounon and Timur Boguslavskiy who are second.

***GTWC Europe is using the motorcycle chicane towards the end of the Nürburgring Grand Prix lap, as was the case in 2021. The Lamborghini Super Trofeo Europe support series, meanwhile, is using the slower version of the left-right corner configuration.

***Nürburgring 24 winner David Pittard was spotted in the paddock chatting to Michele Rinaldi, whose team assisted Frikadelli Racing Team for its landmark victory at this circuit in May.

***Dinamic GT is understood to be plotting a return to the Gulf 12 Hours in December, for what would be its first appearance in the event since its overall podium in the Bahrain 2021 edition. The Porsche team is also set to return to the Asian Le Mans Series.

***The Nürburgring marks Dinamic’s first race under its new alliance with Car Collection Motorsport. The deal, which sees Car Collection provide the No. 56 Porsche 911 GT3 R, is for the Endurance Cup only because Dinamic only operates two cars in Sprint Cup.

***Saturday’s track action consists of Free Practice at 8:30 a.m. (2:30 a.m. ET) followed by Pre-Qualifying at 12:35 p.m. (6:25 a.m. ET). Both will be covered by live streaming on the GT World YouTube channel.